The past and current practice in the lobster trapping industry has been to support lobster traps on the floor of the ocean via ropes connected to buoys floating on the surface of the ocean so that the lobster traps can be readily retrieved. The connection between the free end of the rope, remote from the lobster trap, to the buoy has been formed by knots or other known sturdy connection means so that the connection does not inadvertently become broken due to increased rope tension, for example, as created by rough seas. The advantage of forming a sturdy connection between the ropes and the buoys is that it prevents the loss of trapping equipment.
Recently, the environmental impact of the lobster trapping ropes which extend from the floor of the ocean to the surface of the ocean has come under question. For instance, it has been argued that large marine life, such as whales, can become entangled in the ropes and perish. Therefore, in the future, lobster trapping requirements may mandate that break-away connections be used between the ropes and the buoys so that should a whale become entangle in the rope, the increase in rope tension will cause the rope to be released from the buoy to aid in freeing the whale.
Although known means for securing the ends of ropes may be satisfactory for their intended purposes, there is a need for an improved clip capable of securing the end of a rope to a buoy and for breaking the connection should a predetermined rope tension threshold be experienced. The clip should provide a reliable connection up to the tension threshold to prevent unwanted loss of equipment due to, for instance, rough seas. In addition, the securement clip should be inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use.